Client Bios

When Brian was in the 7th grade he was involved in intramural soccer and basketball. Like any other twelve year old he went to school and spent his free time hanging out with friends and family. He had also just tried snowboarding for the first time and it seemed like an activity he wanted to continue with.

On a typical night Brian was hanging out at home when his back started to hurt him. He ran to the bathroom to see if it was something he could physically see, but he could not. Everything started going numb with pins and needles and he was unable to squeeze with his hands. At first his parents thought he was just trying to get out of doing his homework, but the next morning when the symptoms continued they took him to the hospital. It took three days before they were able to diagnose Brian with Transverse Myelitis and to let him know the cause was either bacteria or viral.

After spending a month in Morristown, being moved to a children’s hospital and some home therapy he returned to school. When he first went back he had a lot of anxiety that something would happen to him again. He made the transition back to a full school schedule when he started high school. Brian expressed that his parents and sister were great throughout this whole process. He also had a few friends that really stuck through the whole thing with him providing additional support. After his diagnosis his family moved into another house one block away that included a bedroom on the ground floor, which made accessibility concerns no longer an issue. Ramps in the garage and out by the pool were also built to make getting around even easier.

He enjoys the freedom of being able to drive and it provides him with more independence. Brian graduated from Ramapo College in May 2012 with his bachelor’s degree in Accounting. He also landed himself an internship at a local car dealership. His role there is to help create a marketing campaign for the MV-1, which is built to be a fully accessible vehicle. Brian recently passed the GMAT and began attending Fairleigh Dickinson University in the MBA program.

At Push to Walk he continues to build strength in his upper body and has improved his ability to transfer. He has sessions twice a week, which include stretching, total gym, standing, and power plate. Brian says “unlike other places he has been, Push to Walk works towards the future rather than the present.”